History and Staff

Vic and Nadine understood that death is a sad but inevitable part of life, and families praised their quality service and respectful, compassionate understanding.

Vic has managed individual mortuaries, national funeral and cemetery corporation facilities in the San Francisco Bay area, and facilities in the high desert.  He also served as Vice-President of Operations at a mortuary-cemetery complex in Orange County.

Nadine has worked for a national funeral and cemetery corporation, and her background as an office professional was a perfect complement to Vic’s industry experience.

License: FDR 920

Nick Bermudez has been a Funeral Service professional for thirty years. During the thirty-year span, Nick has held many various positions in the operations of funeral homes including owning his own in Monterey. Nick is a CA licensed Funeral Director and has always believed that the funeral profession is a highly noble career and that the caregiving to families during a most difficult time is an essential piece as we try to make this transitional time for families a feather weight lighter.

Ted Nilsen has been a funeral service professional since 1970. Prior to joining the Legacy staff, he was employed with the San Diego County Medical Examiners Office for 33 years. His last position was Examining Room Supervisor. Ted is a 1973 graduate of the California College of Mortuary Science. He is a licensed Embalmer, Funeral Director and a member of the British Institute of Embalmers. He is also a member of Epsilon Nu Delta Mortuary Fraternity, NU Chapter.

Ted feels his compassion for families at a very difficult time was his calling in life.

Bob Ries has college and seminary degrees with a certificate in grief and bereavement counseling. An ordained minister with forty-five plus years in loving and caring for people, their families, giving spiritual counseling, prayer, grief, and bereavement support. Bob appreciates and values a diversity of backgrounds and cultures; it is important to maintain open dialogues to create a safe space for people of all faiths, especially during challenging times. We all know the end of a life is never easy. Families laying to rest their loved ones, have questions, concerns and need help or simply someone to talk to. As a funeral service provider, he finds himself providing compassionate personalized care. When Bob was invited to join Legacy Funeral and Cremation Care, he knew he was joining an incredible group of caring, talented staff, a family taking care of family. One of his life principles is making sure Legacy Funeral and Cremation Care offers the absolute best end of life services in San Diego County.

Phil is friendly and compassionate, loves spending time with his family, loves to travel and experience other cultures. Truly enjoys working with the funeral home team and serving families which includes our large veteran population. Works on making an already difficult experience less stressful for all the families he serves as well as putting their needs first.

Due to his passion for helping families during their time of need, Phil volunteers as a crisis/trauma counselor where he completed 5 years with the San Diego Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team as an interventionist and as a trainer. He is currently on his 19th year with the Chula Vista Police and Fire departments Citizen Adversity Support Team (CAST). Is a certified CFDA Arrangement Counselor and will work towards obtaining his Funeral Director’s license.

Has extensive experience with 30 years in the computer industry and holds degrees in computer science, Homeland Security and Emergency Management and working on completing his Masters in Organizational Management.

Loves baseball, traveling, family time, reading, listening to music, live concerts and just absorbing what life throws at us.

Emily had the desire to be a part of the funeral profession for as long as she can remember. Born and raised in San Diego, Emily attended Cypress College to further her education and graduated with her Mortuary Science Degree as well as receiving her Funeral Directors license. She served a year in the profession before becoming an apprentice embalmer. Emily joined the Legacy Funeral Care Family to use her acquired preparation room talents in the areas of funeral assistance, embalming, cosmetics and restorative art. She plays an important role at Legacy Funeral Care as an embalmer helping honor and serve the community.

Eddie Samaniego joined the Legacy Team as an Arrangement Counselor in 2022. He has been in the funeral service profession since 2015. When he first came into the funeral industry, he came with no previous experience but quickly realized that this was his true calling.

He has held various position in the operations of the funeral industry including Removal Technician, Death Certificate Clerk, Family Service Counselor and Funeral Arranger. Eddie brings with him over 30 years of customer service experience. Eddie is passionate when comes to helping his families. For some it can be a very difficult time may need guidance to get through this difficult process. He holds his certificate as an Arrangement Counselor through the California Funeral Directors Association.

When Eddie is not working, he loves committing his time to his community. One of his passions is volunteering for the American Cancer Society. When Eddie lost his older sister to Breast Cancer in 2004, he became a volunteer to continue her legacy in supporting the Non-Profit Organization.

In 2006, Eddie became a California Legislative Ambassador for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, where he lobbied legislative bills on behalf ACS CAN with Local, State and National Officials. One of his biggest highlights as an ambassador was lobbying bills representing his Congressional District at the Nation’s Capital where he had an opportunity to meet Hillary Clinton and Burack Obama.

Eddie also volunteers as a member of Kiwanis International. A Non-Profit global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child at a time. Kiwanis helps kids around the world. Local clubs look out for our communities and the international organization takes on large-scale challenges, such as fighting disease and poverty. We are generous with our time. We are creative with our ideas. We are passionate about making a difference. And we have fun along the way. He has held positions as Vice-President and President of his local club. He was also a recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award within his local club.

Eddie enjoys spending quality time with his family where he makes his son a priority. He has a passion for cooking, where at one point in his life he thought he would become a chief.

Eddie’s plans for the future is going back to school and getting his degree in Business Manager where he hopes to manage his own location one day.

Georgette has been a part of the Legacy family since 2017. She came into the funeral industry with no previous experience but quickly realized that this was her true calling. Although she does not directly meet with the families, she is always mindful of their needs and does her very best to ensure that they are well assisted through this difficult time. Georgette works very closely with the local hospices, hospitals, agencies, and doctors to ensure that the families Legacy takes care of, receive their loved one’s death certificates and county disposition permits in a timely and professional manner.

When she’s not helping families, Georgette spends time actively keeping up with the NFL football season every year and never misses any televised games. As a pass time, she enjoys visiting the local San Diego beaches, museums, and Metal music venues.

Viviana Vela is a welcome new addition to Legacy funeral & Cremation Care. Viviana joined the team as our Administrative Assistant in late 2021. New to this industry, Viviana brings her years of experience in management to the Legacy team. Building relationships with staff and vendors to help ensure workflow in our accounting department and beyond. She is eager to learn and grow with Legacy team as she enjoys helping others and taking on new tasks to keep herself busy. After years of Retail, she adjusted her career to allow her more time to spend with her family.